Computer games can gobble up enormous amounts of time. I enjoy sitting and "vegging" in the evenings with Candy Crush or Solitaire. All too frequently, I look up to see that two hours have slipped by. When those precious minutes are gone, I sometimes wonder about the lost opportunities for more productive work, thinking, or playing. Perhaps if I had invited one of my grandkids over and we played together, I could have counted it as worthy - not wasted use of time!
As teachers we need to evaluate our use of time. Reflective teachers also analyze the use of their students' time. If we are to teach our students to be wise stewards of their precious minutes, we must model good time management. Do your students see you read in your still, quiet moments (even though they are very few)? Do they regularly feel that you have assigned busy-work?
We often feel as though there aren't enough minutes in a day to accomplish the many tasks we have on our plates. Here are some tips to help us be mindful of the precious gift of time.
Five Tips to Make Every Moment Count
Prioritize
Schedule your time around your priorities. If you like lists, write them down; if you use sticky-notes, use color coding such as pink for highest, yellow for lowest, etc., and if you a task manager on your phone, be faithful and list those as they come up and give them a specific flag for the level of their priority. When you get a few blessed moments of quietness - reach for one of one of those high priority tasks.
